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“What did Steve get you for your birthday?” my sister asked me on the phone. It was a beautiful morning a few weeks ago and I was indeed celebrating my birthday. “A few gifts,” I said to her, “but I will open them tonight, though I did get to open one this morning.”

“What was it?” she asked eagerly.

“Vinegar,” I replied.

We both burst out laughing. “Is he trying to tell you something?” she asked jokingly, which made us laugh even more.

No, this wasn’t a symbolic gift. It was a thoughtful one, since I had expressed a desire for this vinegar for a while. It’s a Thai drinking vinegar that I was very curious to try. Steve knew that and got me the pineapple version. As it turns out, it’s irresistibly delicious. As in, when you taste it you want to chug the bottle (which you shouldn’t). As soon as we tried it, we knew this would have to be an ingredient for a cocktail.

I’ve tried inventing cocktails before, but I’ve never been successful. My ability to create food recipes does not seem to translate to cocktails. But this time, I got lucky. After the first try, I came up with a cocktail that we both loved. In fact, we may have to order a second bottle of the drinking vinegar soon.